The Official Site of Jordan Farmar

Tue, Jun 9th 2009, 16:25

Jordan's Playboy.com blog: Five on 5 - June 9, 2009

Hey guys, what’s up? I’m blogging from Staples after an exciting Game Two 101-96 OT win. We’re 10-2 at home these playoffs and we’re heading to Orlando up 2-0 with just two mo’ to go.

After our series opening 100-75 win, team co-captain Derek Fisher said, “If you’re operating at your best, the way our team is constructed, the opponent is irrelevant.” We take our lead from our veterans like Fish and Kobe, who I think is the best player in the world. In the opener, our D was active, we were rotating, shutting down passing lanes, contesting their shots. That’s what it’s about, a total team effort. We didn’t let them get into a rhythm or let them do the things they usually do in the paint. We stopped their penetration fairly well and Dwight didn’t get dunks. And then, as coach said, Kobe’s energy carried us offensively.

In the second game, Orlando got their inside/outside game going more and Lewis dropped some big threes. But down the stretch our veterans—Lamar, who was outstanding (19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks), Fish, Pau (24 points including seven in OT) and Kobe—came up big. We dropped our last 14 straight free throws, and our last five points were at the line. That was the deciding factor in OT. But Orlando almost won Game Two with an ally oop buzzer-beater at the end of regulation. It was that close. BTW, coach Jackson is 43-0 in playoff series when his team wins Game One and Kobe is 19-0 when the Lakers win Game One. Let’s hope those trends hold up.

We’re in Orlando this week. Playing road games is like being in a cauldron, dealing with the intensity of a rival’s fans. It’s an us-against-the-world mentality, but it’s all part of trying to be a champion. On the road, we know that everybody out there is against us. They’re going to do what they can to put us off our game, so the will power of our squad has to be strong enough to withstand all of that. That’s why winning on the road is so special. It’s all part of the experience, and I love it. My stepdad came down to see our clinching game against Denver, and I told him you’re going to really see what the road playoff atmosphere is like. It’s not for the faint-hearted. We’re spoiled in L.A. Every game we’re supposed to win, we’ve got all those banners in the rafters, and we’ve got all those expectations. The fans are not going to settle for less. Once we get going at Staples, we have one of the loudest, most crazy buildings there is. But when we go on the road, starting about thirty minutes before tip-off, you’re hearing it on every warm-up shot you take or miss. They’re letting you know they’re there and they’re supporting their team. They’re waving their “Beat L.A.” signs. There’s nowhere to hide. BTW, it was great to see Lakers fans like David Arquette with a T-shirt reading “U Can’t Beat LA” in our two home games.

Defense is key to our success—defense and making adjustments from game to game. Sometimes you get caught up just playing, not realizing what you have to do to really be successful, you’re just out there playing in that intensity. Then afterwards we watch the film and get to understand in talking to each other, and that’s the biggest growth, figuring things out, making adjustments ourselves. Like, okay, this is what we didn’t do, so if I’m going to do this, then I need you to be here for me. Or if your man is going to drop a shot from out there, we can live with that, but we’re not going to let him inside for an easy layup. If they’re going to double-team Kobe or Pau we’re going to make ourselves available to make plays to help out. I’m doing this or that because I want my teammates to be successful, so I’m going to help them. And if my man scores, then someone else is supposed to help me. Sometimes it’s not always going to work out, but we’re not going to worry about it. We’re going continue to work at it at both ends of the floor. This is what we need to do. It’s about the willingness of everybody to constantly make those adjustments.

A reader asked how this playoff run is different from last year’s. Even though it’s just as much fun, this run has been more focused, with all our eyes on the goal. It’s our mentality and attitude, everyone on the team, guys going from starting to the bench and then back or getting more and less minutes, including myself having played and contributed during the season and then sitting some games before starting a key game. I don’t let it bother me because of my commitment to my team, and all my energy is focused on winning this championship. We’ve all been willing to sacrifice. Our starting guard Fish sat some when Shannon and I were taking some minutes but he said we “have to accept it and do our part.” He also told us that he couldn’t just preach to the choir, he had to be a member of it, “supporting you guys when you were out there.” It was all about us being successful, about us completely putting our own individual agendas aside and focus on winning this championship.

It’s crunch time and you know Orlando will be making adjustments to take care of home turf the next three games. Check back next week and see how close we are to that championship.

—JFarm